There’s a metaphor in here somewhere, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. Something about seeing this elderly woman, back turned to the windows, alone in a room full of cages, chilled me as I walked past. I had to stop and capture the moment.
(I’m sure the actual woman, herself, is probably enjoying the winter sun through the panes and possibly even sipping a cup of tea in this little café. But from the outside, this moment first seemed to speak of something darker).
For one day, we will all be old like this – and that’s if we’re lucky…
There will come a time when we must all turn our back on the day. On all our days.
A time when there will be no more such days for us.
And when that happens, we can only hope that we’ve released all the parts of us that needed to fly free – that we haven’t kept too much under lock and key, preferring to stay caged because flight seemed a scary thing at the time.
So what about you, where you’re currently at in your life?
Is there any part of you that longs to escape any cages of convention?
To be let out into the light.
To be given the chance to stretch its wings.
What unfinished business – or perhaps even unstarted business – is calling for your attention?
Any secret talents, dreams, overdue conversations, or experiments in living?
What would you really like to do?
What matters to you?
What might it take to open the door for these things and give them a way out of the cage?
What’s the smallest way you could set this stuff in motion?
How might it feel to embark on that (to ‘rattle the cage’ a bit)?
(And, perhaps more importantly, how might it feel if you never took the chance and tried?)
(c) Gabrielle Gawne-Kelnar 2010
PS. The photo is part of Point & Shoot
(I’m sure the actual woman, herself, is probably enjoying the winter sun through the panes and possibly even sipping a cup of tea in this little café. But from the outside, this moment first seemed to speak of something darker).
For one day, we will all be old like this – and that’s if we’re lucky…
There will come a time when we must all turn our back on the day. On all our days.
A time when there will be no more such days for us.
And when that happens, we can only hope that we’ve released all the parts of us that needed to fly free – that we haven’t kept too much under lock and key, preferring to stay caged because flight seemed a scary thing at the time.
So what about you, where you’re currently at in your life?
Is there any part of you that longs to escape any cages of convention?
To be let out into the light.
To be given the chance to stretch its wings.
What unfinished business – or perhaps even unstarted business – is calling for your attention?
Any secret talents, dreams, overdue conversations, or experiments in living?
What would you really like to do?
What matters to you?
What might it take to open the door for these things and give them a way out of the cage?
What’s the smallest way you could set this stuff in motion?
How might it feel to embark on that (to ‘rattle the cage’ a bit)?
(And, perhaps more importantly, how might it feel if you never took the chance and tried?)
(c) Gabrielle Gawne-Kelnar 2010
PS. The photo is part of Point & Shoot
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2 comments:
For the first 5 months of this year I felt like I was rattling cages constantly. Not that I was trapped, but I wanted more... and I needed to know there was more.
And it seems the cage rattling has paid off. Lots of things are changing... and I'm excited by the possibilities. x
hmmm not sure about the metaphor here... but i've been looking a birdcages a lot lately... maybe subconciously enjoying my freedom... i love this photo
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